my journey with the barefoot horse

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‘Horse shoes will be obsolete’ – says ex-farrier

Meet Marc Ferrador. He was a much-respected farrier who had serious doubts about nailing shoes to horses’ hooves and decided to do something about it. Colleagues thought he was crazy when he announced he was turning his back on his trade but amazingly he convinced ninety per cent of his customers to try barefoot riding.

Now he says not only is the metal shoe harmful but so too is the horse’s lifestyle. In this interview, he calls on vets, farriers and riding teachers to bring themselves up to date for the sake of the animal which is suffering because of ‘this lack of evolution’.

Marc, who works in Catalonia, Spain, used to ride and compete. Twelve years after qualifying as a farrier he became a professor of farriery. In that time he worked on the creation of the curriculum and also a handbook for courses approved for the European Federation of Farriers Association. He describes the terrain in Catalonia as ‘special’ – it can be dry and unforgiving, so it’s a challenge to ensure horses are transitioned to barefoot without pain.

Please tell us about the moment you realised the harm shoeing causes.

The change in my professional career does not occur in a specific moment. I was a farrier and teacher for 14 years in the Official School of Farriers in Barcelona and some pupils and clients questioned me about the ‘barefoot movement’ so I started to search for information and people who were trimming nearby.

I wanted to see what happens when horses live barefoot. One of the biggest pillars of my change was to realise that young horses

lose health in their hooves with each shoeing. It makes them change the balance of the load on their hooves and even though every farrier of the world knows this, most of them are still shoeing horses.

It is stupid to be unaware of what a barefoot horse offers and decide to put a nailed-on shoe over his live structures to help him. We need to better understand those hooves (and horses) so that we can support most efficiently their health.

When a shod horse works hard, all his structures are stressed and he falls into a state of chronic disease – mechanical laminitis, infection in the water line, cracks across nails perforations, very stressed soles and stunting the back of the hoof. When a transitioned barefoot horse works hard, his structures are fine and healthy.

When I understood that you can’t help horses by systematically shoeing I looked for new hoof management systems to see how to protect them without a permanent shoe.

I had doubts and questioned my old teachers, as well as the master farriers and vets that I met. But none of them had any doubt about the iron nailed shoe and the horse’s welfare. This inability from the farrier/vet sector to be critical about their own work was the other reason to start my emancipation.

How did you feel knowing that your business had been shoeing?

Once I had information about barefoot horses and the new generation of hoof boots which can protect when needed I was ready to start my ‘transition’ with good arguments to explain my change to my clients. This was in 2009.

I told them that I can better help your horse’s welfare with these techniques because the nailed-on shoe, as well as the horse’s actual lifestyle, are obsolete and harmful.

I was able to transform ninety per cent of my customers to barefoot and have slowly found new clients – thanks to my internet site. Ten per cent left me. I was not angry about this, on the contrary, because they were good clients during the last 14 years and I searched a farrier for them. Some of them changed their mind in the last years and thanks to the good relations between us I started to work with them again. I can’t change everyone’s mind in one shout because I had also needed time to change.

I am proud to say that friend farriers and vets sent me customers who wanted their horses barefoot. I’ve been lucky in that aspect.

Nowadays, I’m very happy and feel fine with my option, because it is stupid to deceive yourself because you are afraid to lose some customers and money. I understand that nobody can change his mind in one day but you never can have a good excuse about not doing your job well.

All these business matters can change with good planning and good work with people and horses. If you only work with the human part or with the horse part of your business, then sure you will get only a part of the achievement. Working with horses is also working with people. In front of each horse there is a person and if you want to help horses it is essential to treat people with respect.

What reaction did you get from fellow farriers?

There were different reactions. Some said I was crazy, others that I would lose a lot of money with this change. But now I have good customers and a very good reputation.

The other typical comment during that time was that not all horses have such good hooves to go barefoot.

They did not realize that the problem is not in the hooves but the life style of the horses.

Track systems provide a better lifestyle for horses

Some other farriers also said they did not want to explain about how to improve the welfare of their clients’ horses.

I am very lucky to have here, in Catalonia, a group of farriers that trust me after sharing a lot of courses, farriers’ competitions and clinics. So the Catalan farriers usually share with me some doubts and ask me questions without problem and request me information about barefoot. I have always been happy to answer them.

Once I attended a National Congress of Veterinary and Farriers and realised that change is possible but needs to start inside the farriers’ community.

The horse world urgently needs a big change especially in everything related to horse welfare. For that reason we cannot waste time with silly arguments about morality. We need more science, more education and more results and all this can be done if we start transforming part of our existing professional sector.

In Europe, farriers learn in public schools and it is an accessible job, like veterinarians. We must be able to reach these young people to ensure a better future for our horses and not lose more time in a stupid war between different companies certified in barefoot, as the vast majority have no more than a business vocation to help horses.

This change comes by being generous. A young farrier who is well prepared can get in contact with many of the experienced farriers to learn from them without any expense. I’ve enjoyed this generosity and have learnt with the best people.

It is merely a matter of having access to good training, even after the studies. Barefoot professionals often remain closed to any other trimming methods and this is very dangerous as it impoverishes the quality of their work and its results. We are professionals. We are part of the horse’s health and this has a great responsibility, to use all the resources and techniques to help and heal our patients.

Why would you never shoe again?

In fact, I tried it on two occasions, both for rehabilitation issues. One with a horseshoe and the other with synthetic horseshoe extensions for a rescued horse who had severe deep flexor tendon retraction and after the operation, I put the orthopaedic horseshoes on for three months.

My commitment is with the health of my patients. I promise to use correctly all the resources that are on my hands. I understand that it would be irresponsible from my side not to do it.

In fact these are the only two cases in which the best option was the horseshoe, but over the last years I have been able to solve ninety nine per cent without using horseshoes in pathological cases, and in some cases inventing new orthopaedics that are not nailed or perpetual. We need a new orthopaedics catalogue.

In my experience, problems begin with a bad or lack of diagnosis which will lead to a bad solution. Never in history have there been so many well trained and equipped veterinarians as today. So, we can deduce that there is a problem with their attitude.

On a scale of 1-10, how serious a harm is shoeing to the horse?

Except in the one per cent of rehabilitation cases, I would say 10. We live in the 21th Century, with tactile screens, nanotechnology and drones. Is it logical to put an iron piece with nails to ‘protect’ the hoof? Of course, it is not.

The nailed shoe is seriously harmful. Just see how it deforms the soft tissues. But although we do not like to recognize it, the horseshoe has some advantages. It is minimalist compared to boots, it is highly integrated, leaving much open sole and is much cheaper.

Can you understand the reasons for hostility from some farriers towards barefoot?

Yes, of course. Farriers feel their job is at risk. They also feel hostility to those who “trim” horses barefoot rather than to barefoot itself. If you allow me to do the devil’s advocate, some farriers may be right when they say that a lot of people practising barefoot are not well prepared because they learnt in private schools or certifier organisations which demonize farriers and horseshoes instead of having a serious and scientific proposal about how to help the horse and its health, which unfortunately not too many farriers do.

More and more horses are barefoot. Are you surprised how many? Or did you hope more would convert by now?

I am not surprised right now but when I started with barefoot it surprised me that lots of people contacted me through my website in just a few months. Now, it is possible to find a lot of information about it on internet and not to be limited by the knowledge of the farrier or vet. This has allowed barefoot knowledge to spread very fast and to all the world.

But I was disappointed when I heard so much misunderstanding that most of the people had about barefoot horses. Most of them thought it was ideal because it was healthy, cheap and natural! As farriers, I had to fight with many owners who gave priority to their own interest against their horse´s ones. Unfortunately, this attitude is not exclusive to the barefoot world.

In Catalonia, barefoot professionals have to be well prepared because the land is very special and not everybody knows how to convert a horse to barefoot without pain and discomfort. There is a lot to be done, not all is invented. A most scientific vision could be the key to develop much more technique.

And I am sure that the profile of a barefoot horse using a non-permanent protection when he really needs it and to improve the stabling and care systems, is going to be extended and normalized in a decade, and the iron horseshoe nailed as standard will be obsolete.

What do you feel when you see a horse in shoes?

At first, I feel pity. Then I assess how damaged is each structure. I cannot help it. It’s a shame that there are still people who shoe their horses for practical reasons, without thinking how it is affecting the health of their horses, with the support of owners of riding schools and coaches.

The attitude of riding schools and teachers has not been updated and is slowing down the evolution of the horse sector and its well-being. Again, lots of work to do. It is understandable that people who want their horse to be healthier feel aversion towards farriers, vets and riding schools.

What are your 3 top tips for successful transition to barefoot?

The owner has to be aware of what transition means and what is the meaning of having a barefoot horse. It is about the horse, not just about hooves. The horse needs suitable feeding, the right environment and good handling. It is also important to understand that if we take off the horseshoes, the horse and its hoof structures will mark when and what to do.

In the UK there have been prosecutions against barefoot trimmers. Can you picture a day when the boot is on the other foot? That a farrier has to justify shoeing?

I do not know very well the situation in the UK, but I guess it is similar to what happens in France, where there has been a legislative change and only veterinarians and farriers can manage the hooves of horses. Certified training companies are excluded.

Based on my experience, I would say that a person who has made an intensive course of 10 or 15 days, is not ready to do podiatry. Farriers have a long experience in serious cases, technique and different methods of handling difficult horses, physical exhaustion, etc.

We have to appeal to the responsibility if we want barefoot to be extended and make sure we have the best professionals. But we must request the same attitude to formal schools of farriers and veterinarians. Their training curriculum are obsolete and yet it is vital because the health of the horse is suffering from this lack of evolution. If everybody is up to date, there will be little difference between farriers and trimmers. From my point of view, this is the way.

The English vet Bracy Clark believed 200 years ago that shoeing deformed hooves and led to early death. Do you agree?

I totally agree that with horseshoes, the feet are deformed, and it is something known by all farriers in the world. But I could not say how much the lives of horses are reduced. It is risky to say without having a serious study to support it, because there are too many factors that can influence the life of a horse. I have known horses that have lived more than 35 years and some others who have been always barefoot and not reached 25 years.

On the other hand, it is unquestionable that damage is produced by the metal horseshoe in the foot health, in vascular return, in the joints and tendon, proprioceptive, lymphatic, etc …

What is your vision, your dream, of the future for the domestic horse?

Good locations and a healthy lifestyle. Updating and unification of the most important and basic health criteria and welfare of horses at all academic levels, leaving aside the dogmas and enhancing the scientific view.

Rule out the metal horseshoe nailed as usual and leave it as a possible aid in cases of clinical surgery and in extreme cases of rehabilitation. Exponentially improve protections for hooves with a better design, being more minimalist and having a better cost. Use only trimming systems that are radiologically corroborated.

Change the degree of farrier by podiatry, without the systematic use of horseshoes. Have serious studies of feral horse populations in the world to give us more accurate information than we have today. Create greater synergy between society and what is a healthy horse with pedagogy, collaboration and disclosure because we have to reset the old stereotype of horse that is deeply rooted and is doing so much damage.

I also desire that there many more places like this blog, where you can freely express different experiences to help improve the situation of the horse world. Thanks for your interest and your work, Linda. And also, I would like to thank Ainhoa Gomez and Roberto Reyes for the translation of this interview.

Thanks to Marc for answering my questions and coping with an interview in a second language. Interesting that he uses the word patient for the horse – an apt description for an animal coming out of shoes. You can contact Marc on his website.

As always – get in touch with your thoughts and comments. I love to hear from you. And don’t forget to press the follow button to keep in touch. My novel The First Vet inspired by Bracy Clark is available on Amazon UK (£6.99 paperback and £2.24 for the ebook on Kindle) and Amazon US. It will shock you that this brilliant man exposed the harm of shoeing 200 years ago but was ridiculed by a corrupt veterinary establishment. The book is a historical romance, full of horses and adventure, as well as real history. It has 35 five-star reviews on Amazon UK and a recommend from the Historical Novel Society. It was a sell out this summer at the international showjumping at Hickstead.

And my non-fiction book A Barefoot Journey is coming soon. Here’s a sneak preview of the cover!

STOP PRESS – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON – £2.84 FOR THE PAPERBACK. 99P FOR THE KINDLE EDITION In this light-hearted account I tell how I battled with my farrier, coped with derision from other riders and saved a horse from slaughter. Mistakes, falls and triumphs are recorded against the background of a divided equine world which was defending the tradition of shoeing…with prosecutions.Amazon UKandAmazon US.

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112 thoughts on “‘Horse shoes will be obsolete’ – says ex-farrier”

I am a farrier in New Zealand and have been practicing for 25 years so I feel that I can comment with some credibility. Every horse is different….. Shoes were originally developed for war purposes, to cover greater distances then your enemy as fast as possible. Things have changed. I preach Barefoot but in some cases there are tender footed horses and if you are trying to get different paces then sometimes shoes can be a great help. In this country it is illegal to race barefoot. so a horse must be shod. Farriers are always looking to make the horse go that little bit faster so a lot of trial an error on each horse. again every horse is different. Most farrier books tell of the benefits of barefoot time in between shoes as it constricts the foot and that causes lack of blood circulation and wall shrinkage etc etc. We take our shoes off every night. Why not them. Boots are great and now there are really good ones on the market and you can take them off yourself. Wonderful. But have had horses that hate them. As others have said you know your horse so if you cant work with your farrier then find another one. Same as any other trade. If a farrier said it is a matter of money I would be looking for another one. It is much easier to do a trim about half and hour or less if the trim is done regularly. A set of shoes is an hour or more depending on the nature of the horse and really hard on my body I know what I would rather do.. As I have said I would rather see barefoot but we must all be open minded and what is good for one may not be the answer for another. Learn to learn from your horse not your farrier. Give barefoot a chance but always be aware of your horses comfort and health..

I am a Standardbred trainer in the USA and I have been a barefoot proponent since 2004. My issue has never been barefoot or shoes, since shoes by themselves in general are quite harmless. My issue is with the nails.

I have raced and trained my horses barefoot, there is no rule in the US that says one can’t, but I have found a lot of negativism from other people telling me I shouldn’t. But there are other very successful trainers who set world records with their barefoot horses( Sebastian K).

I do not like boots, most are to clunky and have too much stuff on them to make them useful in my situation and forget about racing in them. I have come up with 2 happy mediums for protection.

1 is a modified Renegade glue on that I cut the sole out of to lighten it up and cut the sides down to make it into a flip-flop. Only glued at the toe and very easily removed. I used this almost all winter after a a prolonged foot conditioning program where I allowed my horse to self trim.

The second, and I am racing in this now is what I call a combo boot. It is human grade fiberglass casting material with a shoe glued to it.

So while yes, some horses may need shoes because their situations are different, most do not need to have them nailed on as this just leads to a lot of other problems.

I have found most people do not see the forest for the trees, and they look for the convenience of nailed on shoes, long shoeing cycles and improper trims and wonder why their horses are not doing as well as they should. These people must be willing to be educated so they learn what is best, unfortunately most either won’t or don’t take the time to learn.

Hi Rachelle, I like your think outside the box approach to managing your horse’s feet! I’m curious if there was a way to selectively apply shoes as needed would you or any other racers be interested in it. Even it was done a hoof boot?

Julia, I am always interested in new things. But just to let you know the weight of the boot, the lack of outside hardware, or actually anything that attempt to hold the boot on or might cause an interference problem, is not going to work. I have had success with with modifying renegade glue- ons into flip flops and casting hooves and gluing a shoe to that. Either one of these weigh less then 5 oz and both are very streamlined. Interested in seeing pics of what you have come up with.

Hi Craig, I love your open minded approach to keeping a horse sound, and I too believe that barefoot is most often the best way to go. However, there are times shoes are needed either for a particular hoof ailment that the horse needs relief from or a specific sport such as Reining that requires a certain type of in order for the horse to perform the required maneuvers.

Which is the case with me and my horses, but I got tired of having to have a shoe on the horse’s foot that had more drawbacks than benefits and really the only time I needed it was when I was working on stops with the horse. I thought wouldn’t it be nice if could just put this shoe on when I needed it and take off when I don’t?

So that’s just what I did! It took me 6 long years to do it but I really did make a boot that can hold up to the intense riding of Reining maneuvers, hold a shoe on it, and have it so it’s interchangeable with other shoes. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how something like that might be received in Australia.

Just a simple question: when you work your horse 5 days a week in a sand arena and the hooves wear off more than they grow when they are barefoot, what do you do? I have tried to change to barefoot but only horses that have super strong hooves and grow them faster than the wear, I can keep barefoot. Boots don’t work when you do Dressage but we use them on trail rides. Thanks.

Lots of people who try barefoot are alarmed at the changing hoof and the signs of wear on it; others are delighted at the improvements. Some may return to shoes because they are worried that the hoof is growing more slowly than it wears but it’s best to slow down, don’t panic and have a think. Every horse will be different but they all take roughly nine months to a year to grow a new hoof, one that hasn’t been damaged by shoes. So converting to barefoot isn’t always a short-term project and your horse may need support and a change in riding for a while but don’t worry, they get there with the right trim, diet and lifestyle. Faced with a horse that isn’t coping with 5 days work a week in a sandschool, what should you do? Return to shoes? Or reduce/change the work for a period? Whatever riding you do your horse will need time to recover from the damage caused by shoes. Healing is quicker if you keep up as much movement as possible. If this can’t be done riding, then lead in hand on roads and different surfaces until the horse is ready for more. Some of them don’t transition easily and owners have a job to do – sand is a great surface but it’s abrasive and it’s best to respect that if your horse is newly barefoot. Give your horse time to heal – he will reward you.

I had this exact same problem, when working my Standardbred on a sand track. I had to balance the work(wear) with the amount of growth and learn not to go beyond that point. I needed him to be able to get to the races in order to be able to race him barefoot. This horse had conformation issues from the day he was born, compounded from a fall coming off the trailer the first day he came in to get broke, and I found by not fighting with the way his feet grew, he stayed sounder and interfered less.

The first few weeks were not an issue and I let him self-trim, I just rasped off the rough edges and nothing else maybe every third day. Once I got to the point( after about 3 weeks of jogging up to 3 miles a day), I switched to a customized set of flip flops( renegades glue-ons, cut down so that just the front and a little bit of the sides of the cuff were left and he jogged in those for a few day a week. They came off to train and went back on a day or so after his training session. The trick here is to not use a lot of glue, so you can take them off, clean them and be able to put them back on. Also, by not having to use boots all the time, the hoof stays healthier. I let his feet tell me whether he needed his flip flops or not. I maintained him this way until he got to the races. He raced barefoot, was able to grip the track in all sorts of whether and I had very little interference issues with him when he raced. Once he was racing, he had a lot of days off that did not require him to have boots on, so I was able to use the same set of boots for a very long time!

Are the shoes on performance horses and using horses that are in rocks not beneficial and helping protect the softer area around the frog? To me when I add additional 200 plus pounds to a horse and ride them hard on or around rocks which I try to avoid I would think those shoes are helpful.

They are absolutely helpful but they also cause harm. This is why so many people are making use of the brilliant alternatives now on the market. Hoof boots, gloves, hoof armour – all these help a horse that hasn’t toughened up its feet enough to meet the demands of the rider. Did you know that the winner of the Tevis cup was a barefoot horse wearing…I have forgotten which, but think Easyboot gloves? Hence the title of the article…Horse shoes will be obsolete. Because there are better things around that don’t cause harm.

I live in a mountainous region where horses are walking on rocks and granite that tear up there feet, not to mention the summer and spring that is so wet and muddy that it can make hooves soft seems to me this combination may lead to the need for shoes or some kind of protection

In the ‘old days’ that terrain did lead to the need for shoes although in the much older days, before shoes were invented, difficult ground didn’t stop armies going all over the world on barefoot horses. Alexander the Great travelled without metal on his horse’s feet. Today we have the great benefit of hoof boots, hoof gloves and HoofArmor. I think I must write an in depth article about all of those for all the people who still don’t realise there are great alternatives to the nailed or glued-on shoe which causes such harm.

How lovely to read. I do have questions, do you feel that farriers are taught to trim barefoot correctly as I feel that they seem to trim barefoot the same way as to fit as shoe and this seems to make mine sore. I do 2 of mine myself and The never seen sore after I trim them ?

Well done for having lovely, sound barefooters. Yes, farriers sometimes do what is known as a pasture trim. Many do much more and people report their horses do well with that. Others prefer the more holistic approach of a specialist trimmer. Your approach is working well for you so carry on. The lovely thing about trimming your own horses is that you can do little and often. I trim my own but will call in an expert if I have a concern.